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CD
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DC 532CD
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"Over the course of 46 minutes and nine songs, It's Up To Emma simmers, storms and cascades through an alinear tale of domestic emotional crises, all of which are immaculately rendered in Scout's distinctive songwriting style. The dark news that the record brings is good news for Scout's fans, who look to her to get under the skin and, as if in a trance, live through these songs in an attempt to get everyone a bit of clarity. In Scout's eyes, the slowly uncoiling spirit world dances with the more chaotic animal called man. Friction between partners generates gradual tension, a sudden fracture that explodes from a backdrop of darkly bruised ego blues. Meanwhile, stars slip icily in and out of constellation mode. It wouldn't work if Scout weren't such a powerful singer or if her insistent guitar lines didn't echo so, or her records weren't so carefully produced to stand the stark details of the performance out against a lush, deeply black backdrop."
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LP
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DC 532LP
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LP version. "Over the course of 46 minutes and nine songs, It's Up To Emma simmers, storms and cascades through an alinear tale of domestic emotional crises, all of which are immaculately rendered in Scout's distinctive songwriting style. The dark news that the record brings is good news for Scout's fans, who look to her to get under the skin and, as if in a trance, live through these songs in an attempt to get everyone a bit of clarity. In Scout's eyes, the slowly uncoiling spirit world dances with the more chaotic animal called man. Friction between partners generates gradual tension, a sudden fracture that explodes from a backdrop of darkly bruised ego blues. Meanwhile, stars slip icily in and out of constellation mode. It wouldn't work if Scout weren't such a powerful singer or if her insistent guitar lines didn't echo so, or her records weren't so carefully produced to stand the stark details of the performance out against a lush, deeply black backdrop."
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7"
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DC 541EP
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"The all-new, all covers No More Nasty Scrubs 7" finds Scout Niblett mouthing other songwriters' words in support of greasy hedonistic sexxx ('Nasty') on the A-side (conjured up after being asked to contribute to a friend's Janet Jackson tribute album) while flipping over to an equally righteous but more stringently, I don't know... ascetic? (look it up, it almost works) viewpoint on the AA-side with 'No Scrubs' (via TLC, for no tribute but her own). Better luck next time, child! Or as we say in the record industry, worse luck -- records don't get written off happy relations and such. Not ours anyway. But then, we've always liked records about bad trips, space travel, and absurd B-movie alternative future scenarios. Plus breakups. It's a living."
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CD
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DC 424CD
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"Drag City rolls up on the Scout Niblett scene just in time for the grand calcination. What luck, to arrive in time for such good timing! Her new record is her most tightly coiled long-player yet, a heavy handful of songs that are reaching for the ripe and the light. People come to Emma Louise 'Scout' Niblett for the joy of a scalding hot bath of sound amidst stark, bluesy emoting -- and she won't let 'em down this time. But something has shifted. Having made herself a record or two's worth of celebration ballads and moody freakouts, she seems to be hearing that call from within to feel for other things. Yelling at the kids around the way only ever gets you so far. And so, it's time to holler inward. The Calcination of Scout Niblett finds our girl in phase transition, exchanging elements for the betterment of her organism. Stripping down. Surrendering. Taking the bull by the wheel and driving to another place. Take the picture on the cover. It's the first album photo where Scout's acknowledging the camera, a new relationship giving sign of a greater awareness of herself and a desire to confront -- a new confrontation, a more sober and realistic conversation. Throughout The Calcination of Scout Niblett we see Scout in deep focus. The lens has dollied in and stuck there. The sweat conjured in performance permeates the screen; darkness is all around her, overwhelming the picture. She's in an empty space and her voice snaps against the walls, behind weird shadows we can't make out. And cutting through, we might believe that we're hearing an inner monologue or two. The songs string together, almost as one, her guitar growls and bites, and the black velvet of space hovers. Just when the tension in the room and the filament of guitar can't glow any brighter, suddenly a band erupts, accompaniment to her vision -- and then back down to Scout and guitar. All the better for the boys to not get too burned. Well, burned just enough. Well-done, even! The Calcination of Scout Niblett is an intense devotional, a determined spirit journey and a collection of great slow-dance songs."
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LP
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DC 424LP
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2022 repress; LP version. "Drag City rolls up on the Scout Niblett scene just in time for the grand calcination. What luck, to arrive in time for such good timing! Her new record is her most tightly coiled long-player yet, a heavy handful of songs that are reaching for the ripe and the light. People come to Emma Louise 'Scout' Niblett for the joy of a scalding hot bath of sound amidst stark, bluesy emoting -- and she won't let 'em down this time. But something has shifted. Having made herself a record or two's worth of celebration ballads and moody freakouts, she seems to be hearing that call from within to feel for other things. Yelling at the kids around the way only ever gets you so far. And so, it's time to holler inward. The Calcination of Scout Niblett finds our girl in phase transition, exchanging elements for the betterment of her organism. Stripping down. Surrendering. Taking the bull by the wheel and driving to another place. Take the picture on the cover. It's the first album photo where Scout's acknowledging the camera, a new relationship giving sign of a greater awareness of herself and a desire to confront -- a new confrontation, a more sober and realistic conversation. Throughout The Calcination of Scout Niblett we see Scout in deep focus. The lens has dollied in and stuck there. The sweat conjured in performance permeates the screen; darkness is all around her, overwhelming the picture. She's in an empty space and her voice snaps against the walls, behind weird shadows we can't make out. And cutting through, we might believe that we're hearing an inner monologue or two. The songs string together, almost as one, her guitar growls and bites, and the black velvet of space hovers. Just when the tension in the room and the filament of guitar can't glow any brighter, suddenly a band erupts, accompaniment to her vision -- and then back down to Scout and guitar. All the better for the boys to not get too burned. Well, burned just enough. Well-done, even! The Calcination of Scout Niblett is an intense devotional, a determined spirit journey and a collection of great slow-dance songs."
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7"
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DC 405EP
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"Like heat rushing in the door, Scout Niblett is suddenly in the room again. Her familiar keening moan opines, 'It's time I danced again,' and the pressure intensifies. 'It's Time' unfolds slowly, doing the grind, working her body and yours. It's better than Bikram yoga, and twice as hot. Flip the platter and you get 'My Beloved,' a grooving, stop-start hip-bumper, with the drums break-beating forward in sway with Scout's wall of burning guitars. As always, Scout's the player behind all the sounds on the record. This one was done at home while a foot of snow crept around outside her front door, providing the isolation required to do all the playing and recording and not go completely mad. Just slightly mad will get the job done every time. This is the first Scout Niblett record to be released on Drag City and we're glad to have her eerie presence on our side."
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